The loud, hissing sound you hear may be the air coming out of the tires of a much-hyped vehicle for improving American public education: the single-sex classroom.
Gender-segregated classes have been promoted in best-selling books, warmly embraced by the media, praised by school officials, and endorsed by politicians. It’s argued that the brains of boys and girls are so different that students need separate classrooms to learn and thrive. This mantra has been repeated so often that it has become the conventional wisdom.